US Soccer CEO JT Batson Talks World Cup Business Growth

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Talks

Episode: US Soccer CEO JT Batson Talks World Cup Business Growth
Date: June 25, 2026
Host: Bloomberg (with Randall Williams, Senior Reporter – Bloomberg News)
Guest: JT Batson, CEO and Secretary General of the U.S. Soccer Federation

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the explosive growth of soccer in the United States, inspired by the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted stateside. JT Batson, CEO and Secretary General of US Soccer, joins Bloomberg’s Randall Williams and host to break down the cultural, commercial, and community impact of the World Cup—and how US Soccer’s current momentum can transform the sport’s future nationally. The conversation covers both long- and short-term strategic ambitions, efforts to foster youth and grassroots participation, and visions for future global events.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. World Cup Fever in America

• High Enthusiasm Nationwide:
  • JT Batson and the hosts acknowledge a palpable excitement throughout the country, with cities abuzz and World Cup jerseys in high demand.
  • Quote:
    • “Based on everyone I keep running into here in LA and my travels around the country, you know, lots and lots of happy people here and they’re excited for the run we’re on.” – JT Batson (01:23)
• Diversity & Inclusivity:
  • Batson points out that the U.S.'s diverse population creates an inclusive environment where every team feels welcomed and supported.
  • Quote:
    • “Every team was going to feel welcome here. Everyone is going to have an amazing time. And you know, people are now seeing that all around the world.” – JT Batson (01:48)

2. Translating Hype into Sustainable Impact

• The Challenge of Lasting Growth:
  • Randall Williams asks about sustaining current enthusiasm—especially with jersey demand soaring and kids increasingly involved.
  • JT Batson emphasizes plans to use the World Cup and upcoming major events (like the LA Olympics and a bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup) as springboards for deeper investment and community engagement in soccer.
  • The 1994 men’s World Cup, 1996 Olympics, and 1999 Women’s World Cup are cited as prior moments of soccer’s growth; this cycle is seen as a chance to eclipse them.
  • Quote:
    • “Imagine what it could look like in the future with all this excitement… using this as a way of getting more soccer in schools, getting soccer in more communities across the country, getting more commercial investment in our sport, getting more government, philanthropic investment in our sport.” – JT Batson (02:37)

3. Community Initiatives & Grassroots Expansion

• Soccer in Schools – Major Announcement:
  • Batson spotlights a landmark deal with the LA Unified School District to introduce soccer into every school, impacting 400,000 kids; the program aims for every school in America to have soccer by 2032.
  • Quote:
    • “We announced with LA Unified School District that they’re committing to put soccer in every school. So that’s 400,000 kids who are now are going to have access to soccer… Our goal: by 2032, every school in America having soccer.” – JT Batson (04:12)

4. US Soccer’s Long-term Vision

• Three Generational Ambitions (The “Why”):
  • 1. Soccer Success: Winning World Cups.
  • 2. Soccer Everywhere: Making soccer the #1 played sport in every community.
  • 3. Soccer is Yours: Ensuring every fan feels a connection to US soccer.
  • Batson reiterates commitment to supporting those “bringing soccer to life in communities all across the country.”
  • Quote:
    • “We want U.S. soccer to be yours. We want everyone who cares about our sport to feel connected to U.S. soccer and to our sport. And we’re just getting started.” – JT Batson (05:44)

5. Looking to the Future – Hosting and Legacy

• Women’s World Cup Bid for 2031:
  • Batson underlines the importance of the 2031 Women’s World Cup bid and its potential as the first-ever with 48 teams—setting new standards.
  • Quote:
    • “We’ve got the Women’s World Cup bid in for 2031. That’s going to be spectacular. Be the first – 48 teams will be in a Women’s World Cup. We will set a new standard for what all of that can look like. And it’ll be a ton of fun.” – JT Batson (06:38)
• Olympic Ambitions:
  • Vision for U.S. teams to win medals at the 2028 LA Olympics, keeping soccer’s momentum alive beyond the World Cup.
  • Quote:
    • “We got the Olympics back in LA in ’28. So, OK, so we... want to win medals on the men’s and women’s side there. So, you know, we’ll keep the party rolling.” – JT Batson (06:54)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The US is a soccer country. There are well more than 100 million people in America who are fans of soccer.”
  – JT Batson (01:48)
• “Imagine what it could look like in the future with all this excitement...”
  – JT Batson (02:37)
• “Before our first game in LA, we announced with LA Unified School District that they’re committing to put soccer in every school. So that’s 400,000 kids who are now going to have access to soccer.”
  – JT Batson (04:12)
• “We want soccer to be the number one played sport in every community.”
  – JT Batson (05:44)
• “We’ve got the Women’s World Cup bid in for 2031… it’ll be a ton of fun.”
  – JT Batson (06:38)
• “We got the Olympics back in LA in 28. So… we’ll keep the party rolling.”
  – JT Batson (06:54)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:17 – Randall Williams opens by asking Batson about happiness with the current state of soccer and the World Cup in the US.
• 02:03 – Observations on visible World Cup fan culture and youth engagement in major US cities.
• 02:37 – JT Batson discusses leveraging World Cup to promote investment and grassroots expansion.
• 04:12 – Landmark announcement: Soccer to be introduced in every Los Angeles school, with a national target by 2032.
• 05:44 – Batson outlines US Soccer’s “three generational ambitions.”
• 06:38 – Bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup, set to be the biggest in history.
• 06:54 – Aspirations for LA Olympics 2028 and continued soccer momentum.

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Conclusion

The episode provides a vivid, forward-looking snapshot of how US Soccer aims to parlay the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s momentum into enduring domestic growth. JT Batson charts a bold vision for the future—anchored by community investment, broadening accessibility, and iconic global events—while staying grounded in the inclusive, diverse character of American soccer culture. The message is clear: the best days for US soccer are ahead, with tangible goals for grassroots growth, competitive excellence, and national pride underpinning every move.

Transcript

[Indiana University Announcer]

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[Podcast Host]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News let's talk about what's going on because you know the Odd Lots podcast, they're doing something and I was reading in pointed out that the last time the World cup came to the US was back in 1994. Before then, the World cup was an enormously popular event with surprisingly limited commercial significance. Fast forward it is massive. With a global audience and reaching, I gotta say, it's one of the really world's most watched global sports events. So leading the way forward with us is JT Batson. He's been CEO and Secretary General of the U.S. soccer Federation since September of 2022. He joins us from Los Angeles. JT, great to have you here. And also with us is our own Randall Williams. He's Bloomberg News senior reporter, co host of the Business of Sports podcast. He's here in our New York studio. Great to have you here. You've been tracking all the games in and out. I'm going to let you ask the first question of JT because you've been watching all of this stuff.

[Randall Williams]

I mean, let's start off pretty basic. Jt, how happy are you right now?

[JT Batson]

Definitely happy and based on everyone I keep running into here in LA and my travels around the country, you know, lots and lots of happy people here and they're excited for the run we're on.

[Podcast Host]

Are you surprised at how well it's going? You know that there were a lot of stories leading up to it about cost and access and everybody here in the New York metro was like, it's going to be a nightmare. And it is a little tough moving around, but it just seems to be going well and everybody who's at the games are just having a blast.

[JT Batson]

Well, the US is a soccer country. There are well more than 100 million people in America who are fans of soccer. And of course, we have such a diverse country with people from all over the world. So every team was going to feel welcome here. Everyone is going to have an amazing time. And you know, people are now seeing that all around the world.

[Randall Williams]

It's pretty cool walking around the streets of New York, you see Argentina jerseys on a day that Argentina is playing, you see Brazil jerseys all over. Even here at the office, I sometimes are seeing jerseys this week, no question, World cup fever is hitting here. In the streets of Brooklyn over the weekend, they were selling all the jerseys that were available for these countries around the world. They were out of US Jerseys in every size. And I think that really speaks to the enthusiasm that we're seeing right now, especially among kids. How do you translate that enthusiasm into something sustainable for the U.S. well, a

[JT Batson]

couple of things, you know, one is you're right around the incredible demand for the US Jerseys. They're iconic, they're. They're a ton of fun. And even though Nike produced way more than they ever have before, they have been, you know, hot items all across the country. And so it doesn't surprise me to hear about that in Brooklyn. And I think more broadly, we view we have now this World cup, the LA Olympics, and hopefully the Women's World cup in 2031 to have a similar impact on the growth of this sport as we did 94, the Atlanta Olympics in 96, and then the Women's World cup in 99. And if you think about what soccer was like in 94 relative to where we are now, imagine what it could look like in the future with all this excitement. And we're excited about using this as a way of getting more soccer in schools, getting soccer in more communities across the country, getting more commercial investment in our sport, getting more government, philanthropic investment in our sport. And so lots of exciting progress. And we know that the best days for soccer in this country are ahead.

[Randall Williams]

I should clarify. Don't know if the woman selling them. They said Nike on them, Randall. I don't know if they were official, official Nike gear. I just want to clarify.

Yeah, that's a good clarification point. I do wonder for you, jt, what do you think the real impact of this World cup is on US Soccer in comparison to previous World Cups? Of course, we had Qatar and South Africa and so many other ones that created incredible memories. But for you, being here in the States, seeing, you know, the fans sing along in the arenas after, in the stadiums after the US has won, what do you think the real impact of this World cup is going to be on U.S. soccer?

[JT Batson]

Well, I think for us, we've always viewed this as an opportunity for one, for Americans to fall in love with this team. And I think they've done that. And folks are excited. You know, being in the Seattle Stadium when everyone was singing Country Roads, was. Was pretty special. And I think, you know, the sort of collective energy of that and the 15,000 people who all marched together to the game, just the pride, the passion has been awesome. And then I think more broadly, we've always viewed this summer as an opportunity in the World cup being here, as an opportunity to get organizations, communities, individuals to take the big steps forward to propel soccer in this country. So as a. As an example, before our first game in la, we announced with LA Unified School District that they're committing to put soccer in every school. So that's 400,000 kids who are now are going to have access to soccer. And we're working with communities all across the country to do that with our goal of By 2032, every school in America having soccer. And so it's those sort of movements, those sort of, you know, actions that, you know, we believe are, you know, going to propel soccer forward for generations and generations to come.

[Randall Williams]

Now, J.T. i could congratulate you on U.S. soccer's two wins here, but I could also congratulate you on your contract extension. And I wonder, you know, you being locked down long term for U.S. soccer, what is your vision beyond the World Cup? To make sure that this momentum, this excitement around the game of football and soccer here in the US Continue continues.

[JT Batson]

So at U. S Soccer, we view our role as being in service to soccer. We think our role is to support those who are bringing soccer to life in communities all across the country. And we have three generational ambitions. We're focused on US Soccer success. So we want our teams to win World cups. We want U.S. soccer to be everywhere. We want soccer to be the number one played sport in every community. And we want U.S. soccer to be yours. We want everyone who cares about our sport to feel connected to U.S. soccer and to our sport. And we're just getting started. There's a lot of work to do to bring those to life at the scale that match the ambition of our fans and everyone who cares about us. And so I'm excited to be doing this for the long haul and looking forward to many, many years of great progress ahead.

[Podcast Host]

JT 30 seconds. When do you want to see the World cup hosted here again?

[JT Batson]

Love it. Always to be here. Of course we got the bid in.

[Randall Williams]

It's just not the way it works.

[JT Batson]

We've got the Women's World cup bid in for 2031. That's going to be spectacular. Be the first 48 teams will be in a Women's World Cup. We will set a new standard for what, what all of that can look like. And it'll be a ton of fun.

[Podcast Host]

So maybe in two years, three years. No, I'm just kidding.

[JT Batson]

We got the olympics back in LA in 28. So okay, so we, you know, want to win medals on the men's and women's side there. So you know, we'll keep the party rolling.

[Podcast Host]

Listen, this is really fun. Good luck and congratulations on the event. Certainly has a lot of folks here in Bloomberg and really around the New York metro area really excited about these games. J.T. batson, CEO and Secretary General of the U.S. soccer Federation and of course our sports expert. One of them here. Unbelievable. Randall Williams, Bloomberg News senior reporter and co host of the Business of Sports podcast, highly recommend. He's done some reporting Blue Owl and advanced talks for a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers. So check it out on the Bloomberg

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